I contemplated on posting these photos because of the horrible lighting but felt obligated to share it with you all anyway. Aziza is now up there as one of my favorite restaurants next to Commis and Manresa.
Seriously amazing "pretzel" bread
Wonderful cauliflower soup
Meatballs with jícama, grape, herb vinaigrette
Squab with cherry, tarragon, frisée, foie gras, spiced honey bread
Basteeya with chicken, almond
Black cod with broccoli, garlic scape, octopus, ginger
Coconut milk cream with cherry, sponge cake, walnut crumble
Goat yogurt panna cotta with raspberry, rose gelée, hibiscus soup
I really can't say anything BAD about this meal. Seriously. LOVE LOVE LOVE ! AMAZING! Everything was perfectly cooked, plated, and seasoned. I mean, everything! The waiter was very well informed of the food preparation as well. I was also very impressed with the desserts which is nice because I have been rarely impressed with Michelin desserts in the past. OMG I can't wait to go back.
Aziza 5800 Geary Boulevard @ 22nd ave San Francisco, CA 94121-2005 (415) 752-2222
Since making reservations in October, I have been anxiously waiting to eat at what would be my first 3*** Michelin restaurant experience in France. I happily dined with Ulla, our chef/professor, Sébastian, and my friend, Nina. I'm going to make this post short and sweet, and well illustrated with photos.
Go Ferrandi !
Second day in France and I didn't even touch the butter !
*Special thanks to Ulla and Nina for their wonderful & vibrant photo-taking abilities!
Brioche tiède Crème fouettée à la truffe blanche et pistache. Palet amande et pomme verte au praliné.
Velouté de pain grillé. At first, they wouldn't tell us what this was. I immediately tasted bacon and charcoal flavor (in a fabulous way, obviously. Think BBQ ummm!)
Foie gras mariné au verjus, galette de champignon de Paris, pâte de citron confit. One of Pascal Barbot's signature dishes. Very light as well !
Langoustines dorées, velouté d’huîtres, beurre de Kombu, herbe à huître . I have never been a big fan of oysters, but this was quite nice. The langoustine was so perfectly cooked.
Turbot cuit meunière, chou et sarrasin, coulis d’oursin. This dish was GREAT. I love turbot!
Razor clam with olive oil and thyme.
Quasi de veau grillé, parmesan fondu, lentilles cuisinées à la truffe noire. The server called the truffles "champignons de saison" or "mushrooms of the season". HAHAHAH.
Selle d’agneau grillée, condiment curry noir, poireaux, soja et câpres. In addition, there was a purée of black garlic, which I love. We had previously tasted the black curry when Chef Pascal Barbot came to our class for a demonstration. I could have done without the olives.
Piment et citronnelle en sorbet. I absolutely love things spicy, sweet, and citrusy. What a great sorbet; nicely balanced, but a bit too sweet for me. The sweetness was fine for everyone else.
Vacherin glacé à la noix de coco et litchi, crème au beurre à la rose, gelée tagette.
Tartelette aux fruits de la passion et yuzu. Perfect. I love passion fruit and yuzu. !!!
Croustillant au chocolat blanc, cappuccino amande et agrumes. This was everyone's favorite. You couldn't really taste the white chocolate (which was nice since I am generally not a big fan of it.). Again, a perfect balance of citrus and almond.
Lait de poule au jasmin. Also with vanilla bean.
Mignardises, fruits frais. I was so incredibly full by the time this came around. Tasted his famous madeleines that my friend Chris who staged at L'Astrance had explained to me how they required 1000 steps to make. I'd have to say the best madeleines I have had. They were crunchy on the outside, and soft in the inside.
As for the fruit, I only had the clementines which were perfect.
Simply put, everything on this menu was very French, but very light, and very fresh. I enjoyed eating the well executed courses made with seasonal produce. The dishes were all very well balanced. Despite all the lightness of the menu, I could barely finish the tasting! But that's just me. =)
I am a HUGE fan of the service here. There is absolutely no pretention. Everyone is extremely attentive without being obstrusive. Also, the servers tend to joke around a lot making the meal very nice but light-hearted and enjoyable. In fact, when Nina and I arrived, they joked and said our reservation wasn't until next week just to see the reaction on our faces. ahhahaha. Everyone was extremely wonderful and friendly.
After dinner, Chef Pascal Barbot came out to say hello. Sébastian and Pascal were old colleagues together at L'Arpège. Actually, Sébastian had just eaten at L'Astrance last week! La chance !
After a bit of chatting, we took a nice little (and I mean little) tour of the kitchen.
7 cooks work in this kitchen. There is another little nook for pastry on the other side which can somewhat be seen in the video below.
Magnifique !
L’Astrance 4, rue Beethoven Paris 75016 Tél : 01 40 50 84 40
Chef James Syhabout, whom I met during my brief stint at Manresa, opened up his restaurant this summer. I decided to treat Raf here for dinner before his big move to Philly to attend Wharton. It was a fabulous decision, to say the least.
Commis is a relatively small restaurant, having only 33 seats. The decor is simple, modern, and crisp - very Amsterdam-ish.
Corn pudding amuse bouche. Amazing. Best corn pudding I've ever had. This is what an amuse bouche should be.
House-churned butter. The cream comes from a farm in Petaluma.
Cute mini-rolls. Perfect size so you don't stuff your face with bread during the meal.
Chef James doing his thing.
Soft farm egg with potato and alliums. Fermented black garlic, pork jowl. This was a fabulously balanced dish - with the pork fat, garlic, and veg.
Raf got ronde-de-nice squash soup and bay shrimp.
Salad of young carrots. I loved this as well. I gotta say those coming from Manresa sure know what the heck to do with vegetables. Raf hates carrots but loved this dish!
Monterey Bay Sardines, lightly cured and smoked. Very fresh, crisp, and delicious.
Tender, perfectly cooked medium rare lamb
Corn fed chicken poached, then roasted in summer savory. NO JOKE, the best chicken I have EVER had.
Now onto dessert!
Melon soup, fruit
I'd have to say that this was the most exceptional meal I've had this year in California. It's very reasonably priced too, $59 for 3-course. I'm a bit jaded now in terms of fine dining here in California, but this place hits the spot. It was completely satisfying and perfectly balanced. I was full, but I didn't leave feeling like I ate up to my throat. (I don't care for heavy tasting menus where you feel like throwing up towards the end.) Simply put, everything was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, perfectly portioned and plated, and perfectly delicious. I'm very excited for James - his restaurant is already a huge success. I defintely see stars in the future. Raf absolutely loved it too. I found Commis to be a very inspiring place to be, considering I am relatively new in my career as a cook.
I can't believe I have waited this long to update on our dinner at The French Laundry. Raf finally got us reservations after two months of trying. We finally used our Xmas gifts! This entry will be short and sweet with lots of pictures.
Salmon tartare - quite frankly the best salmon tartare I've ever had
Oysters and Pearls - it's too bad I don't like oysters. I did get this but just with caviar. VERY good.
Salad of Hawaiian Hearts of Peach Palm - I was pleasantly surprised on how delicious this was. Amazing how tasty and sweet those alpine strawberries are.
Moulard Duck foie gras au torchon - really good, those peaches were AMAZINGLY sweet and juicy. I've never had a peach that good before.
Great brioche. Foie was served with 3 different types of salt from Hawaii, the Phillipines, and Brittany/France.
Sautéed fillet of Atlantic Halibut
Fricassée of Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi - I am not a big fan of gnocchi, but this was the best gnocchi I've ever had. Amazing dish.
Sweet Butter-poached Maine Lobster Tail - heavenly, buttery, sweet... <3
Four Story Hill Farm "Cuisse de Poularde"
"Chateaubriand" of Nature-Fed Veal
Kuroge Beef "Saucisson en Croûte"
"Cavatina" - Cherry beignet, Sicilian Pistachios, Celery, Black Truffle
Andante Dairy Yogurt Sherbert - THE BEST F'IN YOGURT SHERBERT I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. No joke.
"Gâteau au Chocolat avec Bavarois Praliné"
"Parfait au Citron" - I love the taste of fresh/real lemon.
Coffee & Donuts - this is no longer on the menu, however, we heard some "regulars" at the next table ordering it. We asked if there was some left, so they gave it to us for free which was very generous. Sadly, I did not like it at all. The "coffee" was way too sweet. The beignet was ok. Raf loved it though.
I was quite surprised how "minimalist" this meal was. The dishes were very much focused on the main protein and/or produce. Not a lot of fluff. Everything was cooked to perfection. I have never seen such perfect quenelles before. My favorites were the Hearts of Peach Palm, gnocchi, lobster, yogurt sherbert, and parfait au citron. However, it was a bit too much food for both of us.
Although I have had other meals in France that I have enjoyed more, flavor-wise, I still feel that FL was a good experience. The cuisine is very traditional, and I definitely respect Thomas Keller and his team of cooks for the "perfection" they have achieved in terms of cooking technique and plating. The service was attentive but non-intrusive. We also got a tour of the kitchen. That is probably the cleanest kitchen I have seen - everything scrubbed down like it was brand new. Great fridge organization too. There are about 40 cooks that work there. A great experience overall.
The French Laundry 6640 Washington St Yountville, CA Tel: (707) 944-2380
I started this blog to write about my first trip to Europe. Without this trip, I would have never pursued my dream of becoming a cuisinière. This blog then progressed into an illustration of my life as a student at ESCF - Ferrandi in Paris. Now I am off to the real world of cuisiniers. Vive la France!
Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.
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